https://i.redd.it/w7y7oq3i84f31.jpg
I spotted some hand painted signs for an upcoming fair in a small hill town about 30 miles away and decided to check it out. Firstly, it is in breathtaking rural countryside. I'm in Massachusetts and everything is very lush right now. I passed small farms and hay fields and heavy forested areas. Amazing views looking down into the valleys. In the forested areas there are old stone walls and stone foundations - remnants of farms 200 years ago that have now been reclaimed by the woods and the animals. That in itself made me reflect on what the lives of those farmers must have been like and the work it took to build the dirt roads, clear the land of rocks and trees to create those homestead farms.
Finally, following the signs I found the Littleville Fair. It was the smallest fair I've ever been to - no rides, beyond someone giving rides on their ponies. There was one French Fry stand and a chicken dinner put on by a community organization. Other than that, there were tractor pulls being held in a fenced paddock, horse pulling in another area an open barn with dairy cattle - probably competing for ribbons. Several vendors had tents set up - a hippy guy selling tie dye, a lady selling quilts...There was a guy, proudly displaying some steam engines. Old folks sitting chatting in folding chairs, kids running around with their dogs. A band, probably local guys provided the background.
It was so uplifting, so peaceful and I was so happy that such things still exist in America. It wasn't an event putting on a cute, contrived county atmosphere to attract day trippers from surrounding cities. It was the real deal - farmers and their families, proudly showing off the fruits of their lives. Man I so wanted to be part of that community of people who had probably been there for generations and continue to do what they do, despite the competition from the commercialized world. What beautiful, simple lives country people are born into.
A few pics https://imgur.com/a/6mzyJLi
Submitted August 07, 2019 at 08:03PM by GatheringNoMoss2 https://ift.tt/2OLREyO
